Program directory · Canada Border Services Agency
Hearings
- Department
- Canada Border Services Agency
- Program code
- BUG03 (CBSA)
- Core responsibility
- Border Enforcement
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Hearings Program ensures that the interests of the Minister of Public Safety and/or the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration are represented at proceedings before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, which determine the immigration and detention status of foreign nationals and permanent residents already in Canada. In carrying out this responsibility, the CBSA hearings officers and/or hearings advisors prepare case files and witnesses for proceedings. During the proceedings, hearing officers present evidence-based arguments, examine and/or cross-examine witnesses and make submissions (recommendations) on behalf of the Minister(s). Hearings advisors do not attend hearings in person and make submissions in writing only. These functions ensure that foreign nationals and permanent residents who are inadmissible/ineligible to Canada are denied status and/or issued removal orders where appropriate; immigration detentions are continued where appropriate; and refugee status is denied or revoked where appropriate.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hearings | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $339M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | Indicators added: Percentage of admissibility hearings, detention reviews and appeals where the Minister’s position is upheld by the Immigration Division and the Immigration Appeal Division; Percentage of refugee hearings where the Minister’s position is upheld by the Refugee Protection Division and the Refugee Appeal Division | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of inadmissibility referrals and appeals made to the Immigration and Refugee Board that result in an inadmissibility or ineligibility determination; Percentage of Ministerial interventions (at the Refugee Protection Division and the Refugee Appeals Division) and appeals that result in a negative refugee determination | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | ≥ 70% | 2021 | 76% Although the result met the target, it should be noted that the IRB hearings process was temporarily suspended in 2020–21 due to COVID-19 restrictions, hence the volume of hearings was too small to produce a statistically meaningful result for this indicator. | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 70% | 2022 | 84% | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 70% | 2023 | 83% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 70% | 2024 | 86% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 70% | 2025 | 84% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | ≥ 70% | 2021 | 69% The result of 69% nearly met the target of 70% and is within the acceptable variance for performance against this indicator given that, in some cases, a ministerial intervention is only made in order to provide documents relevant to the proceedings. It should also be noted that the IRB hearings process was temporarily suspended in 2020–21 due to COVID-19 restrictions, hence the volume of hearings… | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 70% | 2022 | 77% | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 70% | 2023 | 75% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 70% | 2024 | 76% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 70% | 2025 | 75% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 75% | 2019 | 74% The result of 74% is the average of the Agency’s success rates for admissibility hearings and appeal hearings. The Agency was very successful at admissibility hearings with a success rate of 86%, while the Agency was less successful at appeal hearings with a success rate of 62% due to the consideration of humanitarian and compassionate factors. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 70% | 2020 | 74% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 80% | 2019 | 72% The result of 72% is below the target as this indicator involves the most difficult refugee cases with a high evidentiary threshold for determination (i.e., it must be proven that the claimant made a voluntary, knowing and significant contribution to the crime or criminal purpose). Moreover, such cases are difficult to prove if evidence is not obtained from foreign countries or partners. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 70% | 2020 | 75% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 70% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 70% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $27.2M | $37.3M |
| 2019-20 | $29.3M | $37.4M |
| 2020-21 | $51.3M | $41.5M |
| 2021-22 | $48.5M | $46.5M |
| 2022-23 | $52.6M | $54M |
| 2023-24 | $65.2M | $57.7M |
| 2024-25 | $49.6M | $65.1M |
| 2025-26 | $75.9M | — |
| 2026-27 | $68.6M | — |
| 2027-28 | $64.3M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $63.2M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 280 | 336 |
| 2019-20 | 260 | 376 |
| 2020-21 | 464 | 381 |
| 2021-22 | 504 | 392 |
| 2022-23 | 428 | 450 |
| 2023-24 | 429 | 493 |
| 2024-25 | 436 | 505 |
| 2025-26 | 575 | — |
| 2026-27 | 552 | — |
| 2027-28 | 521* | — |
| 2028-29 | 512* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $27,238,208 | $27,072,295 | $27,069,653 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $29,338,562 | $23,998,666 | $28,849,735 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $51,268,900 | $41,907,880 | $38,308,834 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $48,455,536 | $50,445,497 | $37,562,284 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $52,619,689 | $50,867,703 | $34,686,864 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $65,151,576 | $50,008,068 | $47,758,820 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $49,552,130 | $46,975,469 | $45,966,745 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $75,882,807 | $66,804,607 | $62,664,757 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $68,646,308 | $64,265,625 | $63,155,186 | ||||||||
| Actual | $37,340,860 | $37,361,533 | $41,463,839 | $46,541,681 | $53,981,496 | $57,658,180 | $65,105,077 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
